The Stupid Twin
by CeffylDrwg
Summary: Time Lord and Human DNA just don't get along. So what happens when, before a baby is born, it splits? The answer: You get a super smart twin and a  comparatively  stupid twin. This story is about the human or "stupid" one  with some twists!  ;
1. Lies

**I don't own Doctor Who. The only claim I have is to Reinette and Donna and whatever silly situations I create to put them in.**

The Stupid Twin

Everyone knows how children are formed. At least I'll spare you the gory details and just assume you know. But if that's true for human children, what of aliens? It's safe to assume that alien DNA combines in slightly different ways than human DNA. Even when forced to combine together, the different pieces of genetic makeup are always at war with one another. I've seen this occur in my dad. He hides it from Mum, but I can tell- by the way he has to sit down after running as much as he used to. Or the way that once he's solved a particularly difficult equation he leans against the wall and rubs his head, claiming that he's simply "tired." But what happens when alien and human DNA are not forced together, by some explosive regenerative act? What happens when combination is simply a suggestion?

Me. I'm what happens. Well, me and my sister. You see, by all logical assumption, we should both be three quarters human, one quarter Gallifreyan. And generally one assumes that identical twins are just that: identical. But somewhere along the way of our creation the Time Lord bit decided it was much better than the human bit. And so it broke away. And, being the totally amazing little bit of genetic material it was, it became a whole new being. This whole new being is, as far as we can tell, one hundred percent alien. This fantastically brilliant, amazing and (as the Yanks say) all around awesome being exhibits the all the bloody brilliant characteristics of a full-fledged Time Lord - two hearts, uber brain, arrogance, etc.- while still looking exactly the same on the outside as the other twin. And if it hasn't swiftly become clear to you through my not so subtle use of sarcasm, this all powerful being is my sister.

And while you were hoping that I would say that I was that special alien, you know wonder: What about me? Well, I experience all the fantastical traits of a regular human girl. I'm just going to assume you are, have been, or at least _know_ a regular human girl and not waste both of our time by spelling out exactly what this means to you. But basically it means I did not inherit any cool alien traits (that skill with languages would really come in handy in Spanish class), and that I don't get taken anywhere cool.

At my house it's always like, "Oh John, we can't take Reinette to the Torchwood super cool alien show-down in Greece. No, it could be dangerous. Let's take special little Donna with us; she's far smarter, has quicker reflexes, can run faster and for longer distances, and, if she dies, she might regenerate and then she won't look exactly the same as that other one." Nope. Not bitter. At. All.

Okay, so maybe it doesn't happen exactly like that, but you get the idea. Now that you've heard me whining, you're probably wondering, "So, what's the pay off?" Well my friends, (why do I keep calling you that? I don't even know you!) the reason I have told you all this is to set up the woeful situation in which I found myself that night, when my family was gone on Torchwood business. I was home alone. Well, mostly alone. Well, sort of. See I have this horse (his name is Arthur)… where was I going with this? Right, so I was home alone.

I had just finished my homework (it takes me three hours to do what Donna does in twenty minutes, yet she still refuses to do it for me. Prick) and was just getting ready to watch some telly when I heard the weirdest noise I had ever heard in my life. It sort of sounded someone was trying to scrape something off of a really large shoe onto concrete. Or like someone had left their parking brake on.

I ran to look outside and discovered a large blue box. Now I'm not an expert in large, rectangular equipment (although I am pretty good at rummaging through the fridge) but something told me it was not supposed to be smoking. I blinked (terrible strategy if it had been a Weeping Angel, I know) and rubbed my eyes. The smoking refrigerator thing hadn't disappeared. I squinted- where were my brainy specs?- and could barely make out the letting at the top: "POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX." My breath caught in my throat. Could it be? I had heard stories all my life of the Doctor and his TARDIS.

I scampered to the door, part of me refusing to believe that it was there, for me. _You seem to have come at a bad time_, I thought bitterly, _You're a little early. The one you want isn't home yet! The only one here is the stupid twin!_ When my sister didn't suddenly appear to do yet another thing better than me, I tentatively opened the door. I tip toed outside in the freezing cold and slowly approached the blue box. _The TARDIS_, I reminded myself.

Just as I reached a fist out to knock, the door opened from the inside and a head popped out.

"Hello," it smiled, "You are you?"

I looked the man standing in front of me over. His longish, brown hair was sticking up in parts and appeared singed. A crooked maroon bowtie was hanging limply from his neck.

"Your bowtie is crooked," was all I could think to respond.

"Oh yes. Thank you," he chuckled and reached to fix it. As soon as he made the adjustment it resumed its previous position. I stifled a giggle as he looked down and frowned.

"Anyway, I'm the Doctor," he introduced himself, apparently forgetting that he had asked my name. It was all the same anyhow. I had resolved not to tell it to him anyway. From what I could tell by Mum's stories, he had a habit of leaving Tyler girls in a bit of a rut. Plus, I didn't want word of this ever getting back to my dad.

A bright red headed girl came bounding from within. "Doctor," her Scottish voice seemed to warn, "Doctor the console of the TARDIS is still on fire! What are you dilly dallying about for?" As she finished scolding him she poked her head from behind him. "Who's this?"

"Oh Amy! This is… uh this is… um," the Doctor looked at me for help in his introduction but before I could stutter a reply Amy cut in.

"Under any other circumstances I'd tell you how nice it was to meet you, but right now I have to ask, do you have any water?" Amy asked, her eyes shifting back into the alleged fire located in the console room.

"There's a hose right here," I pointed to the tube I had been using to feed the horses that was snaking next to me.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor smiled. His smile was contagious and I beamed too, glad to be useful for once in my life.

I helped him grab the hose and ran to turn the nozzle. After a few moments the Doctor called to tell me the fire was out and I twisted it back off. As I was racing back to the site, I heard Amy shout from deep within:

"Rory the fire's out! You can stop hiding!"

"I wasn't hiding," came the obviously offended reply, "I was looking for the swimming pool. At the very back of the TARDIS. 'Cause, you know, there could be water there and stuff."

By the time I reached the door, it was wide open and all three voices now had a face for me to associate it with.

It was Amy who spoke first. "Right, I'm Amy, this is the Doctor and this is my husband-"

"Rory," I filled in. I hadn't meant to interrupt her. It was a bad habit of mine. I blame my dad.

"How did you know…?" Rory started.

I looked at my feet, suddenly embarrassed. "I heard Amy shouting something to you as I was coming back."

"Anyway," the Doctor filled the awkward silence that followed my explanation, "I have a few questions for you. One, where are we? Two- no, one point five, _when _are we? Two, why are you not at all surprised to see three madmen (sorry two madmen and one madwoman) in a box that happens to be on fire?"

I tacked the questions in order. "One, the Chilterns. Two, 2025. Three, I figure it's best to deal with one thing at a time. Your box was on fire, so I felt that was the most pressing matter to attend to." Of course, the last one was a lie. I was not surprised because I had been secretly hoping for this moment to come for my entire life. But, if I wanted to keep my cover of being not connected to the Doctor in away at all, I had to think of an alternate reason.

"Have I seen you before?" the Doctor asked as he began to really notice me for the first time. I shook my head 'no' and he squinted his eyes a little, "hmm… well you look really familiar, maybe you haven't met me yet. What did you say your name was again?"

I quickly searched my mind for a name. The first name that popped into my head was a random character from a story Dad had told me once, long ago, when Mum was away. He almost didn't tell us, because Mum said she thought the story was too scary. But Dad said she was just jealous because she hadn't been there. In this story, Dad and Donna (the first Donna- not my sister) were at a very special library. Apparently the shadows in this library ate people. I don't really remember the details of the story because I was seven when he told us and the fact that the darkness had an appetite was about the only thing I gained from the telling of the tale. That, and the name of the main character. See, Dad had never met this woman before, but she was strong, and confidence, and acted like she had known Dad for a really long time. I had always found her name to be one of the prettiest things I had ever heard.

"River Song," I proudly told the Doctor, making my naming decision in under a second.

I had expected the trio to nod and finish with the formalities, but they just gawked at me.

"River Song?" The one called Rory clarified. "As in, _River Song_?" He and Amy exchanged a glance while the Doctor just stared at me. He examined my long, slightly curly blonde hair and my hazel eyes.

"How old are you?" He asked.

"Fifteen," I responded. The gravity of his voice forced me to tell the truth. I silently cursed myself for choosing such an obviously controversial name.

He simply nodded and we stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity.

"Well River Song, would you like to come in?"

**Hey so this story popped into my head and I had to get it down. I hope at least one person found amusement from it. **

**I have outlined the next five chapters, but I will only write them if someone reviews to tell me if they think I should. I know I've been bad and promised this with my other stories, but this time, I promise I actually will. Also, if you hated it and want me to never write again, tell me that to in a Review. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Noses

**Nope. Still don't own anything that you recognize from outside this work of FanFiction. Although if I did have a successful TV show of my own, I would probably write at least one FF just so that in my disclaimer it could say: "I **_**DO **_**own this." Enjoy!**

The inside of the TARDIS was better than I could have possibly imagined; it was huge (and I mean HUGE) and beautiful. I must have gasped, because the Doctor smirked and asked:

"Do you like my ship? She's called the TARDIS. Anything you want to say?"

I nodded and suddenly remember Dad going on and on about how his favorite part about showing anyone the TARDIS (back when and the Doctor standing in front of me were one and the same, of course) was that they always made one comment. But I couldn't for the life of me remember what that comment was. After a few painful, silent seconds, I squeaked out what I hoped the Doctor had been waiting to hear: "The inside. Its', er, different from the other part. This part. It's um.. it… has a different volume."

"I think she means 'It's bigger on the inside,'" Amy laughed as she assumed what must have been her usual place next to some big doohickeys on the consol.

As I (dramatically) spun around in circles to take in my surroundings, I was suddenly taken with a selfish urge to find one room in particular. "I have to go to the loo," I lied, "you do have a loo right? Somewhere hidden in this huge blue box?" I felt bad about how easy the lies were coming to me now.

"Oh yes, its…. Um… Amy do you remember where the bathroom is?" the Doctor scratched his head. A part of me worried about the fact that he had lost his own loo.

Amy nodded and pointed down the nearest hallway. "If you get lost, just stroke the wall and whisper, 'Oh dearest TARDIS, where oh where did you put the bathroom?' It works for the Doctor every time," Amy joked.

"I heard that!" the Doctor called and Amy just chuckled in response.

I began down the pathway until I was out of sight. "Oh dearest TARDIS (wow this felt awkward), can you please show me Mum's old room," I whispered. When there was no response I reached out my arm and stroked the wall, part of me wondering if this was some sort of joke Amy was playing on me to make me look stupid.

The wall shuddered at my touch and white lights illuminated a winding pathway. I walked down the sinuous hallway and finally arrived at a door marked with a single red rose. I half expected it to be locked, but the handle gave when I tugged at it. I slipped inside.

The walls were pink and the air was fresh. The bed was neatly made and covered with a soft, flowery print. Taped to the side of the mirror were two pictures. The first was a much younger version of Mum next to an older man wearing leather. The second more closely resembled the two people I had grown up with. The man, my dad, had spiky hair (although in this picture it didn't have a speck of the gray that streaks through his hair now) and a pinstriped suit. He was every bit as lanky as he is now and that stupid smile he always uses was plastered across his face. Mum looked so young (yet still older than me, I bitterly noted) and her bleach blonde hair (much healthier now that she uses this world's hair color shampoo) fell messily around her face. _The style in 2006 was _disgusting_,_ I laughed to myself. Staring at the two people I knew so well but who, in this picture, knew nothing of my existence, reminded me of my odd little family. I suddenly remembered something else, possibly of more importance than anything else: we had to leave my garden before Mum, Dad and _Donna _got home.

I'm not proud of what I did next, but I did what I had to do to get what I had wanted for my whole life. I raced back to the consol room and, as Amy began cracking a joke about what was taking me so long to do my business, I shouted, "You guys I just remembered! We have to leave _now_! The TARDIS is parked right on top of an underground tunnel dug by, uh, squirrels (give me a break, I was improvising) and if we stay on top of it too long it was cause a huge sink hole that will damage the water pipe supplying water to all the houses in the neighborhood.

Amy glanced at Rory, who was staring at me like I was nuts (I probably am). The Doctor, however, seemed to take my word for it, because he made a motion to start the machine. It sputtered and shuddered (hey that rhymed!) but, within moments, the familiar wheezing began and the TARDIS began to move.

When it stopped, the Doctor announced, "I was only able to move it across town, because the TARDIS seems to be acting funny, but hopefully that solves your squirrel problem."

I stupidly grinned and thanked him for being so kind.

"Okay, so what's the real reason you wanted us to move it?" Rory questioned, raising his left eyebrow like my dad does when he gets excited.

The Doctor glanced at Rory and murmured, "I was going to let her get to that in her own time."

"No it's okay," I nervously responded, "I was just worried, you know, that people would see the TARDIS and wonder what it was." _People meaning my sister Donna of course_, I left unspoken. I couldn't shake the feeling of certainty that I had that if the Doctor ever met my sister, the DoctorDonna would be once more and poor, stupid Reinette would get thrown to the dogs again. (Yes, I have heard the story of Madame De Pompadour- I know the Doctor left her behind to die alone.)

"Well no one should see us here," the Doctor smiled and I could tell he believed this lie. _It's not a lie,_ I kept reminding myself, _It's just a severe case of withholding the truth._

"So, _River_," Amy emphasized the name like she still couldn't believe it belonged to me (probably because it didn't), "will you be staying with us for a little while?"

"Yes, she will," the Doctor answered for me, "If she wants to, that is." All three faces turned to look at me.

My eyes grew wide and I vigorously nodded my head.

"Okay then, it's settled," the Doctor announced, "River Song, it's nice to meet you for the first time. Tell me, if you had all of time and space to choose, where would you like to go first?"

I pondered this for a moment, before smiling and recalling the name of the one place Dad had never actually taken Mum. "Barcelona."

"I could go for Spain. But only if we're going in the summer," Amy warned, as if she was accustomed to the Doctor promising her one thing and giving her a (much colder) other place to go.

"Actually, I, uh," I looked down and shuffled my feet, "I meant the planet. Barcelona the planet."

"How did you know there is a planet called Barcelona?" the Doctor moved his face inches away from mine.

"I was on the way to the loo and I accidentally walked into the library and there was this book and it said 'Barcelona' so I picked it up and um…" I trailed off, subconsciously slapping myself for thinking I could get away with lying so much.

He stared into my eyes for a moment and I held his gaze, remembering the first step of the only Torchwood training I had ever received: if someone refuses to hold eye contact with you, they're probably lying. "Okay then, cool. Barcelona it is. Geronimo!"

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

When the TARDIS touched down I was first to the door, ready to spring outside and explore this brand new place. Scratch that. This brand new _planet_.

"And where do you think you're going?" Amy jumped in front of me before I could tug it open. "How old are you again? Twelve?"

"Fifteen," I mumbled as I took a few steps back toward the center of the consol room.

"Now you're new so of course you don't know, but the Doctor has a nasty habit of landing in the wrong place. At the wrong time. Sometimes he's twelve years later than he planned (at this she shot a nasty look at the Doctor, but I had no idea what she was referring to). So my general rule as of right now is to wait at least thirty seconds for the world to explode before barreling outside."

I glanced at Rory, who was smiling. Something told me he had asked her to say something in regards to this.

"Don't be ridiculous Pond," the Doctor countered as he waltzed over. He flung the door open. "Look, Barcelona. 2250. No explosions. Happy?"

I pushed past Amy and stepped onto the orange grass. Behind me I could hear Amy telling the Doctor to shut up, but I tried to ignore them and looked up at the yellow sky. Other than the inside of the TARDIS, it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I reached down to pick a blade of the grass and ran the orange sliver between my fingers. A soft breeze played with my hair and left it in tangles at the back of my neck. I spun around (again, quite dramatically- I seem to be pretty good at that) with my arms held out on both sides of me and laughed. There was no Mum here to tell me to be careful. No Dad to enforce Mum's rules. And best of all, no Donna to steal my spotlight. Donna was millions- no billions- of miles away. She was YEARS away from where I now stood. My knees buckled under me and I fell to the soft grass. I waved my arms and legs, creating grass angels in the hillside.

"She's taking this quite well, don' you think?" I heard Rory not-so-quietly whisper to Amy.

"She's doing what I would've done on my first trip if I had been her age," Amy replied.

"Seems like something you'd still do now," Rory muttered and I heard a loud smack as Amy elbowed him in the arm.

"Trouble Ponds?" the Doctor called from inside.

"Nope, no trouble!" Amy responded. "Actually, yes. What are you doing still inside?"

"The TARDIS has been acting up ever since we landed at River's house. I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with her. I've narrowed it down to…"

As the Doctor sped off in his techno-babble (though not as bad as Dad, I must admit) I pulled myself to my feet and began to meander down the hill. Near the bottom, I heard a loud barking. I ran to the source of the noise, eager to see the much anticipated dog. When I arrived, a young man was rubbing his dog on the ears. The animal's back was to me but I waited patiently for it to turn around. I held my breath as the man tossed a stick in my direction and the dog came bounding toward me. But when I saw it, I couldn't understand what I was seeing. It was just a normal dog. Probably a Golden Retriever. There was absolutely nothing abnormal about it.

I must have stood there in silence for a few minutes because I felt Amy's hand on my shoulder as she leaned down to ask, "What's wrong?"

I just pointed at the dog.

"The dog? I don't…" Rory began but Amy shushed him as I began to speak again.

"It has a nose," I answered.

"Aren't dogs supposed to have noses?" Rory looked at me quizzically.

"Earth dogs, yeah. But not Barcelona dogs," I whispered.

Amy stared at me like I was crazy for a few seconds before clapping her hands together and announcing, "Alright. So let's go back to the TARDIS and inform the Doctor of the dog situation."

Rory and Amy shared a look before heading back up the hill. I followed behind them, stopping every few feet to look back and make sure the dog still had its nose fully intact.

When we arrived at the TARDIS the Doctor looked up from whatever he was doing. "Back so soon?" he asked. "I was hoping you would stop by one of the local shops and pick me up some Moon Chips. Which is a weird name for Chips because Barcelona isn't a moon. Although if you define a moon as a satellite then I guess you could say that-what?" He abruptly stopped in his rambling when he noticed Amy, who had her hands on her hips and her head cocked to one side.

"River is concerned about the dogs of Barcelona," Amy's loud voice and the way she phrased the statement made me feel silly.

"Don't worry River- they're not supposed to have noses," the Doctor absently responded as he returned to whatever he had been doing.

"I know- it, it was in the book," I lied (I really need to stop this whole lying thing), "But that's the thing. The dogs here have noses."

The Doctor ceased what he had been doing and turned to look at me. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positive. Amy and Rory saw it to."

He turned to his companions and they nodded in agreement.

"Well this is very, very incredibly not good," the Doctor stated. "Sorry River, but your trip is ending sooner than I expected. I have to check something."

Amy, Rory and I exchanged nervous looks with each other as the Doctor ran back and forth between screens. Suddenly the TARDIS roared to life and we roughly landed within minutes. The Doctor sprung to the door and look outside. He frowned and looked at each of us individually, beginning with Amy, then Rory, and finally letting his eyes rest on me. He addressed all three of us but did not take his eyes off of me. "I think I figured out why the TARDIS is acting all catawampus. We've found ourselves in a parallel world."

Rory gasped and Amy ran to the door as if to look outside. The Doctor slammed the door shut before she could reach the outside. "In my experience, it's best to leave parallel worlds alone." He shifted his gaze back to me. "So tell me River: Where you're from, are there Zeppelins in the skies?"

I knew my answer meant everything. And right then, more than anything in the world, I wanted to stay with the Doctor. He made me feel special and I had only had a taste of the adventure that I knew was to come if I could stay with him. So I did what I've begun to do best; I lied. "What's a Zeppelin?"

The Doctor furrowed his brows as if his eyes could see through my lie. Then he shrugged and turned to face the other two. "We've got to find a way back."

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

I was impressed with how quickly the Doctor found a crack in the universe. I was even more impressed with how confidently he calculated exactly what direction and force we would require in order to pass through the void unharmed.

He said it was in Norway. Bad Wolf Bay. The very same place he had dropped off Mum and Dad all those years ago. He landed on the Beach and told all of us to exit the TARDIS. He instructed us that she needed a few hours to charge up and then we could sail safely through the crack (hopefully). The married couple strolled had in hand down the shoreline. The Doctor, on the other hand, stood very close to where he had exited the TARDIS and closed his eyes. I could only assume he was remembering.

This place held the upmost significance to me. But I had no memories to hold dear to my heart. All I knew about the beach I had heard from stories. I wanted nothing more than to ask the Doctor to tell me everything that had occurred from the moment he left the beach. I wanted to know what had happened to his companion, Donna- basically the mother of my Dad. But to ask these questions would be to break my cover. If he discovered the truth, I knew, he would put me right back where I was and leave without a second thought. _Because the Doctor can justify leaving _anybody _if it fits in with his own idea of 'their own good'_, I remembered my Mum telling me one night after she and Dad had gotten in a fight.

I sat in the sand a little ways from the Doctor as the hours ticked away. Finally, Amy and Rory returned and the Doctor announced that it was time to leave. I turned to take one last look at my world before closing the door of the TARDIS. I was ready to start a new adventure with Amy, Rory, and the Doctor. I was ready for my new life to begin.

Allons-y!

**This chapter was almost 1000 words more than the last one. Yay! But the next one probably won't arrive until next weekend. Although it might get here sooner if I have motivation by, oh I don't know, reviews of any kind. (I know- I'm so shameless).**


	3. Rivers

**I feel horrible that this took me a week longer than I expected. These past two weeks have been chaos for me. The worst part is, this (regrettably short) chapter has been sitting in my computer for the entire last week unedited. It's still not perfect, but I needed to get this out. And I will make it up to you. In fact, I will start working on the next chapter as soon as this gets published.**

**Disclaimer: Again, I own nothing. Wouldn't that be lovely if I did? Also, I am American if you haven't noticed thus far, so I apologize for anything "American" you find in here. Like the word "awesome". I do enjoy that word.**

The room ceased its shaking and the engine stopped groaning.

"Will someone please explain to me what just happened?" Rory asked indignity from his spot on the ground the force of the impact had thrown him to.

"I brought us to the weakest part in between our world and the parallel world and forced the TARDIS through it," the Doctor solemnly replied.

"And how exactly did we end up in said parallel world? _When _did we end up in the parallel world?" Amy inquired, evidently concerned.

The Doctor glanced at me suspiciously before turning back to Amy and announcing. "Not sure how. I would have thought it would be signaled by some catastrophic event but we didn't even feel it. Sometime between picking up River and arriving at Barcelona. But nothing to be worried about. All better now. See?" At this he thrust open the door of the TARDIS to reveal the same beach we had just been on.

"It doesn't _look _any different," Amy observed.

"Of course it doesn't _look _different Amy. It's a parallel world. But," the Doctor stuck his head outside and breath in heavily, "it smells different. And it feels different."

Amy rolled her eyes. "I bet it tastes different too," she laughed.

A dreamy looked crossed the Doctors eyes. "I hadn't thought to taste the parallel world." For a moment he looked sad before remembering the three of us looking at him.

He spun around to face me. "Right, River. You ready to go home yet?" He asked and I could tell he was getting anxious about having me around, although I was not sure why.

Regardless, I definitely did not have a home to return to in this world. If the Doctor abandoned me now, I'd be utterly alone.

"Nope. I never got to see the dogs with no noses," I reminded him.

"What was with the dogs with no noses anyway?" Amy questioned, "They certainly looked fine to me."

"On our world's planet of Barcelona," the Doctor explained, "the dogs have no noses. But in the parallel world, they did have noses. That was the first sign that we were in the wrong world."

Amy seemed to accept this explanation because she remained silent as the Doctor geared up the TARDIS toward Barcelona.

"Okay River, we'll go to the proper Barcelona and then it's back to the Chilterns for you," the Doctor informed me, not without some degree of harshness and the mistrust that I had most definitely earned by now (the name he called me by alone was reminder enough of that).

I nodded and the Doctor began the ignition (or whatever time and spaceships use to fly). Within minutes of flight, however, a pounding came on the door.

"Impossible!" the Doctor exclaimed as he stabilized the TARDIS in mid air and ran to check the door. "We're in midflight. I've only known one person to ever board the TARDIS in midflight, and even she appeared on the inside, not the outside."

He thrust open the door to reveal a figure wearing a white space suit, reminiscent of how I imagined the walking skeletons in the original River Song's library.

The Doctor gasped. And turned to look at me, then back to the figure.

"River," he whispered, but he wasn't talking to me.

The figure pulled off its helmet and shook out its (her?) hair.

"Hello Sweetie."


	4. Doors

**I'm posting this so soon because I feel so bad about making you wait two weeks. Also, your reviews made me so excited I had to write more. So here it is everyone- the Confrontation scene. **

**Disclaimer: if you recognize it from somewhere other than the first three Chapters of this story, it's not mine.**

Amy and Rory gasped and the Doctor pulled the woman he identified as River around so that she couldn't see me. He motioned Amy and Rory over and, once they had started up a conversation, discretely shuffled over to me, murmuring some excuse to River about "leveling the engines."

He shooed me into another room, whispered something about "Spoilers" in my ear and closed the door.

I stood in stunned silence for a few moments before pushing the door open just a crack and peering through.

"So, River Song," the Doctor was saying in his childishly flamboyant style, "What can I do for you?"

I jolted back. _So _that's_ why he seemed so nervous around me. He knows me! _I thought. _No, _I corrected myself, _he knows River Song. _

It suddenly all made sense. Why he wanted me to go home. Why he thrust me into this sad, cold room, when River Song suddenly showed up. He was trying to prevent a paradox!

Fortunately for everyone involved, that was never going to happen. Because while it might be bad mojojojo in time and space for one to meet a younger version of one's self, there is no taboo surrounding the colliding of someone assuming one's identity. Well, no taboo for the person whose identity is being assumed. The other person, one can presume, is in a pretty bad place when her cover has been compromised.

I returned to my crack and continued to observe.

River was talking: "And _that _is how I escaped from the fleet of Judoon. You appearing with the TARDIS was just fabulous luck on my part." She winked and smiled boldly. I imagined that Mum would hate this woman.

"Yes, fabulous luck," Rory coughed and the Doctor shot him a dirty look.

"River," Amy glanced back at the door where I stood and I shrunk back so she would not see me pressed up against it, "you didn't tell us you were from the Chilterns. I always assumed you were from somewhere far more exotic."

I cringed at the mentioning of the Chilterns. _Please, please, please, please, let there be some weird coincidence where the real River Song is actually from the Chilterns,_ I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed.

"Where?" River raised her eyebrows. She pulled out a strange blue book and flipped through it. "I've never been to the Chilterns in my life. Yet?" She glanced at the Doctor as if there was some big secret surrounding her and the Chilterns. Which I guess there was.

"Wait, you're not from England? 2025?" Amy looked at her two male companions.

"No. Am I supposed to be," River laughed.

"Sort of," Rory mumbled.

Amy, Rory and the Doctor all whirled their heads around to stare at the door. At me.

I slipped through the door as they watched me, timidly shutting it behind me. I started nervously giggling. "Busted."

The trio hesitated for a moment as I watched the real River Song look from me and back to them in confusion. The Doctor was the first to reorient himself. He strode over to me and pointed an accusatory finger at me. "Then _who_," he asked, "are you?"

"My-my- name is Reinette. But everyone just calls me Rinny," I stuttered, shying away from his harsh tone.

"And why were you pretending to be my good friend River Song?" He stuck his face close to mine and I closed my eyes, pretending in my own adolescent way that the simple act would transport me out of the mess I was in.

"She what?" River asked from a few meters away, but the Doctor ignored her, his piercing eyes glaring into me every time I ventured to open my eyes.

Finally, I found my voice. "I wasn't pretending to be anyone," I answered, not sure if this was the truth or if I was still lying. Of course, my explanation was total cow poo. "I just, sort of, picked a name. Song because I, uh, like to sing. And River because… um… because I love the old American show Firefly. It was cancelled way before it's time."

"Amen!" Rory called from River's side. "That show deserved much more than one season and a feature film!"

"Rory!" the Doctor snapped, turning to look at him, "Can we focus please?"

I didn't hear Rory's answer because I took this as an opportunity to utilize what every member of my family could agree was the number one strategic move: I ran. I ran down the hall of the TARDIS, automatically racing to the one place I had truly felt at home on in this colossal ship.

Unfortunately for me, no matter how good of shape I was in, I was no match for an equally well-toned alien. The Doctor quickly caught up to me and grasped my wrist.

"You're not getting away that easily. Now tell me, if you weren't trying to _be_ anyone in particular, there must be a reason why you didn't want to be yourself. So I'll ask you again, who are you?" The Doctor resumed his position of not enough personal space.

"I already told you, my name's Rinny," I pleaded, hot tears filling the corners of my eyes. I cursed my tear ducts for betraying my emotion.

The Doctor looked angry but, before he could ask his next question, a thought passed before his eyes.

"You were running. You were running away. But you weren't running out. You were already in the control room, which you already knew was a way out. For all you know the _only _way out. But you weren't running toward the door. You were running deeper into the TARDIS. Tell me Rinny, where were you going?"

"I wasn't going anywhere, I was just… running," I lied, terrified to upset this mad man in his box.

"No but you see, you weren't just running. You were running _somewhere_," the Doctor grabbed both my shoulders and crouched down so that his face was level with mine. "Where were you going?"

"To Mum's room," I whispered.

"What did you say?" the Doctor asked, confusion crossing his face.

"To Mum's room," I raised my voice and kept it level. "Mum. You might remember her. Rose Tyler. Defender of the Universe. You asked me who I was. That's who I am: Reinette Tyler. One half of a genetic code gone horribly wrong."

The Doctor jerked his hands off of me as if I had electrocuted him and pure disbelief flashed upon his face.

I turned and ran, this time desperate to actually reach my destination.

As I ran I could hear Rory ask first Amy, then River, then the Doctor before shouting to my fleeing form: "What does that _mean_?"

The Doctor just stood there, unwilling (or unable) to move.

Why had I ever thought this would be a good idea?

**Sorry that there isn't actually that much confrontation. But I figured that something like this had to be broken in waves. So first comes anger, then a long, meaningful talk, then acceptance. Or maybe not. I guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out ;)**

**Also, anyone get the Firefly reference?**


	5. Allies

**Note: SO SORRY this took so long. I won't bother giving you all my escuses (I have a lot of them), but here it is. I will try to be much quicker in the future. Hopefully this chapter is okay.**

**I went through all the characters that Rinny should have her first talk with, and I found that she and Rory are most alike.**

**Disclaimer: if you recognize it, it's not mine. How sad.**

I could hear them outside.

"Someone should talk to her," Amy whispered.

"Great idea! I nominate River," Rory whispered

"What would I say? 'Hello Sweetie, you committed identity theft but now we're going to be friends?'" River snapped back. "I've never even met the girl!"

I could only assume at that point they all turned to Amy because she shot back, "You know me. I've been told I'm not sensitive enough. I might upset her."

Rory scoffed.

"That leaves Rory," River whispered.

"Okay, but that means I don't have to talk to the Doctor. I'm surprisingly more terrified of him than an angry little girl."

Then the doorknob turned and a figure slipped inside.

"Hi," Rory murmured as he flipped on a light.

"Hi," I choked out. I wiped the back of my hand across my face. "I wasn't crying."

"No, of course not," he smiled. Why was he being so nice to me?

"Do you hate me? Does _he _hate me?" my voice dropped. I prayed that it wouldn't crack.

"I don't know. I left him to the girls. And no, I don't hate you. But I don't understand either." Rory looked down at me and, for a moment, I believed he was telling the truth.

"Have you ever spent your whole life living in someone else's shadow? Doing your best, but it's never been good enough. Because by no fault of your own, they are always, always going to better?" I was struggling to hold back the sobs.

Of course Rory didn't understand, how could he know how it feels to be compared to someone your entire life?

At least that's what I told myself, until I really looked in his eyes. I saw something in there, something that I would have noticed before if I hadn't spent so much time being a self-absorbed drama queen: He did understand.

"Sometimes you can't leave it up to people to think you're better; you gotta prove it." He rocked back on his heels and smiled at me.

"But, _how_?" I was a nothing. Everything I did got royally messed up. Donna wasn't even involved at all in this and I still someone managed to screw it up.

"I died and came back a Roman Soldier. Then I guarded a box for two thousand years. I thought that would make me worth something."

I nodded, tears filling my eyes again. I would never be brave enough to do something like that.

"But you know what?" He leaned back over and looked me square in the eyes.

I shook my head no. But it didn't take leaps and bounds to figure out where he was going with this.

"Those things were important and everything, but Amy chose me even before all that."

"You mean?" I gasped. Was Rory Amy's Mickey?

"I mean that sometimes it's a blessing to be the real one. You know, the one that wouldn't get put under scientific observation if he goes to the doctor's office for an XRay." Rory smiled and I smiled back at him.

"And one heart doesn't break nearly as hard as two." I giggled, tapping my chest where my sole heart beat.

"And if you ask me," he had begun laughing with me, "One heart can love and be loved just as much as two."

I didn't know what to expect when I saw the Doctor. Was he still mad? Did he hate me? Would he send me home immediately?

"Reinette," the Doctor whispered when I entered the control room. I slunk back, half hiding behind Rory, my only pledged ally. "Reinette," He repeated, letting the word roll off of his tongue. "Why on Earth would your mother name you Reinette of all things?"

He paused for a moment, but, before I could answer, moved on.

"I can only assume you're named after Madame De Pompadour. I met her a few times. Lovely girl. I was her imaginary friend. Great kisser," the Doctor smiled at fond memories.

"Do you make a habit of becoming little girl's imaginary friends and then snogging them?" Amy joked, but I didn't miss the hint of bitterness in her voice as she realized that she wasn't as special as she thought she was. _Sorry honey; happens to all of us. A little sooner for some than for others, _I cynically thought to myself before remembering my chat with Rory.

"Snogging them?" Rory sounded alarmed.

The Doctor glanced at Rory. "Rory we've been through this: Stag Night, Cake, 'Your fiancé tried to kiss me.'"

Rory shuddered at the memory and backed off.

The Doctor's face broke out in a smile as his eyes jumped to each of his companions. For a second, I thought maybe he had forgiven me and wouldn't ask me about my family.

His eyes reached mine and his smile faded. _Nope_, I thought to myself, _He still has loads of questions. He's just keeping up appearances for his friends. _

"Reinette, can I-?" He began when the TARDIS began jerking violently. I was thrown to the ground and used one arm to hang on and one to protect my face.

Just as quickly as it had begun the shaking stopped. Nobody moved. I held my breath.

_If everything is fine when I count to ten, it's just a fluke_, I told myself.

_1, 2, 3_

Nothing was happening. Rory was helping Amy up.

_4, 5, 6_

The Doctor was at the controls, trying to figure out what went wrong.

_7, 8, 9_

River was straightening her coat. Everything was going to be okay.

_10_

All the lights shut off.


	6. Wolves

**I'm so sorry! This has been on my computer for weeks but I have just had no time to post it at all! Here it is. One more to go!**

"All my censors are off, all lines of communication are down-" the Doctor frantically flipped every switch on the control board haphazardly.

"The lights are off," Amy added helpfully.

"Oh right," the Doctor called from surprisingly far behind us. I heard a loud gurgling noise and a set of low lights flipped on. "Reserve power," he explained as the four of us looked around in surprise. "I installed them sometime after we got stuck in the parallel world with no power. Unfortunately they don't seem to be doing much more than lighting up the room and turning on the monitor."

"Did you try-" River began before the Doctor cut her off.

"Yes, I tried everything but we seem to be stuck."

"Should I check outside?" Amy began to make her way to the door.

"No!" the Doctor shouted as he chased after her and slammed his back against the door. "There is nothing out there."

"Well what do you mean, nothing?" Amy tried to push past the only slightly larger Time Lord. "Even if we're in the middle of the desert there's usually somebody around."

"No I mean _nothing_. Zero, zip, nilch, nada," the Doctor moved away from the door and ran to his monitor. "Look here." He motioned at the screen.

"I don't see anything," Rory responded, confused.

"Exactly," the Doctor shot back. "Everyone, close your eyes and imagine nothing. This should be easy for you Rory."

"Hey!" Rory's eyes shot open.

"Watch it," Amy warned.

"Just saying, he and I are the only ones here that have experienced nothing. I mean absolute nothingness."

"But you're talking about the Void," I interrupted, suddenly remembering Mum and Dad's tales of passage through the Void. "And this isn't a void ship."

The Doctor started and stared at me, as though he'd forgotten I was there. "Yes, we're in the Void. The space between parallel worlds. Where time itself stops. We could have been in here for hours, days, months!"

"But it's only been 5 minutes!" Amy flipped open her cell phone to check the time but it wouldn't turn on. "It can't've been more than that"

"No it's been less," River placed her hand on Amy's shoulder. "Time doesn't exist. We may never grow older again."

"That doesn't sound so bad…" Amy pondered the idea of staying young and beautiful forever.

"Just because time isn't moving doesn't mean you can't die. Your little hearts will still give out eventually," the Doctor absently called from under the panel. How did he move from place to place so quickly?

"Thanks for cheering us up," Amy retorted.

"Plus, immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be. Rather dull after a while, I imagine. People dying all around you and you're powerless to stop it." The Doctor glanced at me, but I could tell he could only see my Mum. "Of course, being a Time Lord isn't so bad. You can change things up everyone once in a while. Maybe next time I'll be ginger."

"What?" Rory and Amy's heads shot towards the Doctor.

"Not important. Tell you later. Maybe." The Doctor was now back at the door.

"There seems to be a lot of things you're not telling us lately"-cue everyone looking to me- "And since we have time, maybe we should start with some answers." River had finally begun to address the questions on her, Amy, and Rory's minds.

"Now is really, really not a good time. See we have, I'll say, a really really short block of time that can force us back through the cracks we fell through. We just have to figure out how to get back." The Doctor began to haphazardly pull knobs again.

"Well how did we get here? Maybe we can use that to get us back," Amy suggested, and I could tell the idea of danger enchanted her.

"Well the best I can tell is we severed the delicate balance between the worlds when we accidentally ended up in Rinny's world and then further damaged it by going back. But the way we crashed through, I wouldn't say we passed through cracks, so much as scabs. And scabs close up. Hence, the worlds will be okay because everything should close up on its own. But unless we get out of here fast, we're stuck in between here forever," the Doctor stopped to explain, but I could see his mind working a mile a minute, the way Donna's does when she's trying to figure out how she could blame something on me.

Donna. If I died here, I realized, Mum, Dad, and Donna would have everything they ever wanted: a perfect, brilliant, super alien family. Suddenly I didn't care if I ever made it home.

But then I saw Amy look at Rory with absolute love in her eyes and the mutual fear between them.

_I want that, _I found myself deciding. _I want someone to love me that much_.

I focused my attention back to the discussion in front of me.

"But this is a time machine; can't we use something to get the flow of time moving again and push us out of the Void?" River was asking. The Doctor hesitated and turned to look at her.

Suddenly, his eyes shifted to me. He ran to me and placed his hands on my shoulders, staring me straight in the eyes.

"Close your eyes," he whispered and I obeyed, more out of shock than anything. "Now repeat after me: 'I am the Bad Wolf, I create myself.'"

"What?" I opened my eyes and struggled out of his grip. "What are you doing? What's the Bad Wolf?"

"The Bad Wolf is this _thing. _It's hard to explain, but she has complete control over life and death and she's powered by the time vortex." I relaxed under the Doctor's hands as he explained.

"But why would I be the Bad Wolf? I'm just a human." I was pretty sure that if I had the supreme powers of the universe I would have figured it out by now.

"Exactly! The Bad Wolf can only manifest in a human. Time Lord DNA is too complex. It would eat away at the very fabric of my being. But a human! Oh a brilliant, stupid human," he laughed as though he was remembering something funny but infinitely sad. "A human can control the Wolf for a short amount of time before being consumed."

"So if this wolf thing enters my body, I'll be able to use to get us free," I clarified. "And _then_ I'll die." I guess I deserved that.

"No!" the Doctor was giggling like a school girl now. "That's the best part! You've been exposed infinitesimal amounts of it your whole life. Like Amy and her crack. If I'm right, and I'm almost never wrong, you would have even more control over it. You could probably expel most of it from your body yourself. Or live with trace amounts inside you."

"Trace amounts? You mean like I could kill and revive people by touching them?" I stared at him like he was from a whole other planet. Wait, bad comparison.

"Well there would probably be no effect. A few computers shorting out next to you here-and-there, glowing eyes when you get really mad. A very small chance of immortality-"

"Glowing eyes? Immortality!" Okay, _now _I was staring at him like he was an alien. Okay, well a crazy alien.

"There's a very, very small change of that. The only person ever to be made immortal by the Bad Wolf wasn't even the person controlling it," the Doctor looked miffed and I could tell he was trying to ease my fears.

"Wait, so when you say that I've been exposed to it my whole life… Who was the last person to control the Bad Wolf?" I asked, realizing that I certainly didn't know anyone with powers like that.

"The one and only, Rose Tyler. Your mum," the Doctor beamed at me like I'd done something clever.

"My mum, but she-" I began before the Doctor interrupted me.

"But she's not immortal? Her eyes don't glow? That's because I took it out and it nearly killed me. Thanks to your mum, it was 'bye-bye Big Ears' and 'Hello perfect hair'," the Doctor chuckled at the memory.

"I'd hardly say your hair is perfect Doctor," Amy joked until the Doctor turned to look at her and chuckled,

"Not this hair, Pond. That came later."

"You are so weird," she rolled her eyes and moved back beside Rory.

"Now I extracted what I could, but I doubt I was able to completely remove the Bad Wolf from either of us, which means that with your mum and… wait!" the Doctor's face fell. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I never asked, I just assumed! Reinette, who is your Dad? Because that would make all the difference."

I laughed and shook my head. "There was only ever one for my Mum. And when you gave her a job, there was no way she was going to screw it up."

"Good ole Rose," the Doctor chortled. "Well in that case, both your parents would have small amounts in them and then when they got together and had you, those parts would come together and…"

"Wait!" I cut him off. "What if there was something else, something that blocked it from coming to me?" I was thinking of Donna of course. If anyone was some sort of Malevolent Dog it was her.

"That's the best part! The Wolf is so strong, there is nothing that would stop it! Even if there was something else, the draw it would have to you, young human, would be more magnetizing than anything else. Remember, the Wolf can only find a home in a human!" the Doctor had worked himself into a frenzy by that point.

"Okay, so assuming I am the Bad Wolf, how do I access my, uh, superpowers?" I figured I'd ask the question now before promising to anything.

"Well your mum looked straight into the heart of the TARDIS, so I sort of figured…" the Doctor trailed off.

"That I could try that?" I was pretending to be brave but I was scared out of my wits. _Man, _I thought,_ If someone was writing a story about me now, readers would probably figure me for some sort of Mary-Sue, risking my life to save others. That is, until they found out how much of a coward I really am. _

"Yeah, it'd be easy really, we just have to lift this and move that and run and hide," the Doctor moved back and forth working things out for our grand escape.

Finally, everything was ready. It was show time. By that point, I had sorta figured I was going to die (I'm really dramatic, as you might remember).

"Before I, you know, boom, or something, I just wanted to say that the past, however long it's been, has been the most fun I've ever had in my entire existence." I looked down at my feet and shuffled them back and forth.

Amy smiled weakly at me. "I hope you don't, uh become immortal."

"But don't die either," Rory ruffled my hair. "Been there, done that. It's not fun."

The Doctor didn't look like he was going to say anything, so I took the initiative. "Doctor? I just thought you should know… I have an uncle now. My uncle's cool."

"Told you I'm cool Amy," the Doctor smiled and adjusted his bow tie. "Let's get this started."

"What were the words again?" I asked, suddenly unsure.

"You'll do great!" the Doctor pointed both his thumbs up for me.

And then everything flashed white.


	7. Songs

(**Last chapter. Thanks everyone for sticking with me on my first completed, long fan fic. I don't know if you guys like me character or not, so I'm not sure if I should do a sequel, do something involving her twin Donna, or run far away from this storyline and never do anything with it again. Thanks so much for everything, and while I tried not to solicit reviews in the rest of the chapters, you should know that I love them immensely. It's like Christmas every time I get a new one. PS: I own nothing you recognize from outside of this story.)**

I woke up lying on the couch. I blinked a few times and stretched out my tense muscles. I looked around in confusion before realizing that I was home. My home. In my world. I shakily stood up and balanced myself on the edge of the coffee table. Everything was the same. The little flower pot was still sitting next to the stove. Our family portrait was hanging above the fire place. The place reeked of normalcy (or as normal as my family ever got).

_But that would mean… _I thought as I rushed to the counter and looked at the stove. Only a few measly hours had passed since the time my family left me alone. "No!" I shouted before realizing I was talking out loud. I lowered my voice and gritted my teeth. "It can't all have been a dream." I felt tears prick at the corner of my eyes.

I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hands and headed outside to finish my chores. _Stupid, mediocre chores. I've seen the world, and I'm back doing mundane tasks. _I knew I was selfish and silly, but I didn't care. I tossed a bale of hair to Arthur, my horse, and changed the water for Mickey, the dog. That finished, I headed back inside and collapsed back on the couch. I began pushing the memory, no, the dream, to the back of my mind and flipped on the telly.

The first show on was some Medical Drama. I figured immersing myself in someone else's problems would get me away from my own. But when all the characters started referring to the main guy- George, Jerry, John, Something-or-other, as "Doctor", I quickly flipped the channel. It landed on some nature show, but, by that point, I had stopped caring. I got up to get something from the fridge.

I opened the door and stared inside for a while to find nothing of interest. Brilliant. I walked up stairs, forgot what I was doing, and went back downstairs. Then I opened the fridge again. Again, nothing. Foiled. While I was pondering why there was never any food in the fridge no matter how many times I opened it, my eyes glanced to the back door again. Mickey was standing at the window, staring at me. Instead of letting him back in, I just sort of stared at him back. I was that bored.

I had just made it back to the couch when I heard the key jingle in the door. Mum appeared first through the door. The first thing she wanted to know was if I had finished my homework (I had) and who had called (no one). Well, no one I was positive I hadn't imagined. Donna popped in next, chattering at overwhelming speeds about the whosit whatsits of something or other (I didn't really care). Finally, Dad trudged in, clearly tired but in good spirits.

"Was the mission a success?" I joked.

"Oh yes!" he responded in that energetic way he always does. "Your sister…" I love my dad, but I'm not gunna lie- I stopped listening at that point.

"So, what did you do?" Donna moseyed on over to sit next to me.

"Nothing," I lied. (Was it a lie if you weren't sure it was true or not?)

"Cool," Donna responded before turning to the telly. "Whatcha watchin'?"

"Dunno, just some bad show about wolves," I answered before I got a searing headache and began to see flashes of light.

"What is it?" Mum asked, concerned.

"Nothing, it's nothing. Just sat up too fast or something," I smiled weakly, the pain subsiding.

Dad was looking at my quizzically. "I think it's time you two go to bed."

_SOS. She's in disguise! SOS. She's in disguise!_

I jolted awake. "Donna, turn your music down, for gosh sakes!"

"My music?" I heard her shriek from the room over. "It's coming from _your _radio!"

I looked at my clock radio. It was 8 in the morning on a weekend and my offending radio was singing Shakira like it was the end of the world.

_I'M STARTING TO FEEL JUST A LITTLE ABUSED, LIKE A COFFEE MACHINE IN AN OFFICE._

"Turn it off!" Donna was shouting at me, but the music was growing louder.

"It won't shut off!" I called back.

"What's the problem?" Dad called from his bedroom.

"My radio won't shut off!" I was now wide awake and fumbling with the controls.

_THERE'S A SHE WOLF IN THE CLOSET, OPEN UP AND SET IT FREE_

"Well why is it doing that?" He called patiently, appearing at my door with the sonic screwdriver he had been building at Torchwood for years. He shined it on my radio before instructing me to pull the plug.

_THERE'S A SHE WOLF IN DISGUISE, COMING OUT, COMING OUT, COMING OUT_

I finally found the cord and yanked it out, ending the music.

"Good, let's go get some breakfast now." Dad smiled at me and I begin to walk out of my room. I paused at the doorway and noticed that he was staring at the clock.

"What?" I asked him.

"Nothing, it's nothing. Probably just nothing," he responded and began to follow me out.

Mum was already downstairs, beginning to make a fruit salad. "Rinny," she called, "I need help cutting the strawberries." I obediently picked up a knife and a strawberry, carefully decapitating the red fruit.

Donna wondered downstairs, shooting me dirty looks for waking her up. She perched at the stool across from me but didn't offer to help cut anything.

"Ow!" I exclaimed all of a sudden, catching my thumb on the knife. Ruby drops of blood bubbled up on my skin. "Don, can you get me a band aid please?" I stuck my thumb in my mouth and began to suck on it. A few minutes later, Donna handed me a band aid and Neosporin and Mum instructed me to wash my hands before putting it on.

"Rinny, I thought you said you needed a band aid?" Donna was looking at me, confused.

"I do- I nicked myself." I stuck in thumb in her face to show her.

"Where?" she asked, in her obnoxious Donna way.

"Right there!" I sighed, exasperated. I pulled my thumb away to look at it, but stopped suddenly. "I, I must not have broken the skin," I reasoned. But reason told me that was false; I could still taste the salty blood in my mouth and remember the long gash running vertically across my finger.

I stared down at my thumb, absently noticing that the pain had completely subsided. But what shocked me most was the fact that where there once had been a huge, red mark, now laid pure, unmarred skin.

At just that moment, the downstairs radio flashed on.

_I__f you could only see the beast you've made of me__  
__I held it in but now it seems you've set it running free__  
__The saints can't help me now, the ropes have been unbound__  
__I hunt for you with bloodied feet across the hallow'ed ground_

(songs used:

"She Wolf"-Shakira

"Howl"- Florence and the Machine)


End file.
